Ghost Hunt At Dudley Castle

Ghost Hunter Tours return to Dudley Castle to investigate this very active location. Our team of experienced investigators have a variety of equipment and activities on offer and will use what is best for the specific location. The night is dedicated to guests new and old and with the help of the experienced

staff will make sure you will have the best night possible and that you come away feeling like a ghost hunter. The venue is well documented as a very haunted location don't miss your chance to do this event with us - now...........are you brave enough to join us? This investigation will be led by lead investigator Nicky Goldingay and her team

Dudley Castle is regarded as one of the most haunted castles in the World, and perhaps the most haunted in England. There are many spirits that have been reported here throughout hundreds of years. Perhaps the most famous of all the ghosts here is that of the Grey Lady, believed to be the spirit of Dorothy Beaumont. She lived in the castle for a time, and gave birth to a daughter there. Unfortunately the daughter died during birth, and various complications led to Dorothy’s death shortly after. She is said to wander aimlessly around the castle and its grounds, believed to because her requests on her death bed were not granted. She asked to be buried beside her daughter and that her husband attend the funeral. Because neither occurred, Dorothy continues to be tormented to this day and therefore cannot rest.

The ghost of Dorothy can often be seen near the Castle Keep and in the pub that was named after her on the castle grounds, the Grey Lady Tavern. Since opening there have been many reports here, mostly of unexplained sounds, alarms going off in the middle of the night without explanation, and extreme drops in temperature, that’s often accompanied by a strange blue mist that floats through the bar.

The Chapel Undercroft
The most haunted location in the castle is thought to be the chapel undercroft. In an Ancient Room there is a stone coffin, that is believed to have once held the body of one of the most castle’s most feared Lords, John Somery. On many occasions, people have reported seeing legs beside the coffin, believed to be that of John himself. Other reports include people having the feeling of their clothes being tugged at, and their bodies prodded. One one particular occasion, the little girl flipped over a chair during a paranormal investigation. On another investigation, a dark shadowy figure was captured on camera. People have also reported strange grinding sounds coming from the chapel above, and obviously on investigation the sounds cease.

The Little Drummer Boy
Another popular ghost of Dudley Castle is that of a Civil War drummer boy. He was killed during a skirmish by a single bullet from one of the most inaccurate firearms invented, the 17th Century musket! He’s heard many times at night, banging away on his drum in various drum rolls as if in battle. It’s deemed as bad luck to hear or see him due to the unfortunate nature in which he died.

In 1537 John Dudley – son of Edmund Dudley, economic advisor to Henry VII, who was executed by Henry VIII – embarked on a building programme at Dudley Castle including the stunning Sharington Range, named after his architect, William Sharington.

Dudley rapidly rose through royal ranks to become Duke of Northumberland, and on the death of Henry VIII in 1547 became one of 16 executors of a Regency Council founded to supervise the nine-year-old successor, King Edward VI.

In 1552 Dudley became Lord Protector, but by spring 1553 the king had contracted TB and in an attempt to control the succession he encouraged the dying Edward to void the rights of princesses Mary and Elizabeth to the throne and put his cousin, Lady Jane Grey next in line.

Mary’s Catholicism posed a threat to the recently-introduced religious reformation and the new-found wealth of those who supported it, and to boost his security Dudley arranged the marriage of his youngest son, Guilford, to Lady Jane on May 21.

King Edward VI died on July 6 and Lady Jane Grey proclaimed queen. However, the succession was challenged by Mary and her supporters who forced a coup d’etat against Dudley in the Privy Council, and he was charged with treason and executed on August 22, 1553.

His best-known son Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester, was a favourite of Mary’s successor, Queen Elizabeth I.

On August 11, 1575 Queen Elizabeth I visited Dudley Castle and a decade later the site was surveyed as a possible residence for the imprisoned Mary, Queen of Scots.

During the Civil War Dudley Castle was garrisoned by royalist troops. It was besieged in 1644 and 1646 and surrendered on May 13, 1646. The following year, by order of Parliament, the keep, gatehouse and sections of the curtain wall were slighted.

On July 24, 1750 a fire, which raged for three days, swept through the Sharington Range, gutting the once-magnificent palace. Dudley Castle was allowed to settle into the role of romantic ruin.